Monday, August 21, 2023
Jewish Man Walking With His Son Subjected to Antisemitic Assault in Berlin
The spate of antisemitic attacks in Berlin continued over the weekend, when a 37-year-old Jewish man walking with his son was violently assaulted at a subway station.
The attack occurred on Saturday afternoon, as the pair were walking along a main thoroughfare in the German capital's Prenzlauer-Berg district. A 61-year-old man who was later detained by police approached the father and spoke to him in what local media outlets described as a "disrespectful manner," but the pair ignored him and continued on their journey.
However, when the father and son returned to the same spot later in the afternoon to catch a train from the Storkower Strasse subway station, the same man approached them again. He punched the father in the neck with his fist and uttered an antisemitic insult before fleeing, according to witness reports. He was apprehended by police officers shortly afterwards. A breathalyzer test showed the man was inebriated. He now faces hate crimes charges.
Berlin has witnessed a series of antisemitic attacks in recent weeks, amid a general rise in antisemitic agitation and violence across Germany. Earlier this month, a 19-year-old Israeli man walking with his girlfriend was beaten up by three Arabic-speaking men who overheard him talking on his cellphone in Hebrew.
Separately, police last week arrested a 63-year-old man for carrying out arson attacks and vandalism targeting memorials to Jewish and LGBT victims of the Nazis and a lesbian community center in Berlin.
RIAS, a state-funded antisemitism watchdog, reported 848 antisemitic incidents in Berlin during 2022, out of nearly 2,500 nationally. A total of 21 incidents involved physical attacks with one case of "extreme violence."
Despite the steady year-on-year rise in antisemitic outrages in Germany, many officials believe the true number of incidents is much higher because many victims are unwilling to submit reports with the authorities.
"Only 20 percent of the antisemitic crimes are reported, so the real number should be five times what we have — 25 incidents per day," Felix Klein — the top federal official in Germany combating antisemitism — told The Algemeiner in a recent interview.
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